Full Review

The Warning, Choke Review

The Warning is a rock band from Monterrey, Mexico, that is comprised of three sisters, Daniela (Dany) Villarreal Velez: guitars, piano, lead and backing vocals; Paulina (Pau) Villarreal Velez drums, piano, lead and backing vocals; and Alejandra (Ale) Villarreal Velez: bass, piano, backing vocals. All three sisters began learning music at a young age. Still, the girls never planned to form a band until a Christmas Holiday school festival where Daniela and Paulina decided to play a song together. They invited Alejandra to join them, and despite her young age, she handled the bass lines as if she had been playing for years. The satisfaction and enjoyment of that first musical experience on stage was so incredible they started practicing together. They began videotaping their rehearsals and uploading them to YouTube. When they uploaded a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” the video went viral, and in just a few days, it had millions of views from all around the world. Up to this day, the video still gets plays and has over 70 million views, and has been shared and commented on by members of Metallica themselves. In 2015, The Warning released their first EP composed of original songs, which led to the girls being asked to play on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In 2017, The Warning released their debut album called XXI Century Blood, which was comprised of thirteen songs. Their second album, Queen of the Murder Scene, followed in 2018. 2020 started strong with their second Kickstarter campaign to fund their next album and a North America Tour to overwhelming success. With the project being over six hundred percent funded, it became the most successful Kickstarter campaign that ever came out of Mexico and the sixth most successful worldwide within the rock genre. After watching them play, Jason Flom, head of Lava Records, a label of the Universal Music Group, signed the sisters to a five-record deal with Lava Records and The Warning became the first Mexican band under a US major label’s wings. The Warning is now releasing the first single from the upcoming Lava Records album called “Choke.”

Bottom Line: “Choke” has already gone to number one on the streaming rock charts of Mexico, Peru, and Ireland, and within just three weeks, the video “Choke” garnered over half a million views on YouTube. The song was produced by legendary rock producer David Bendeth (Paramore, Bring Me The Horizon, Breaking Benjamin). The sisters say, “‘CHOKE’ is a song about drowning in your feelings and coming to terms with them. Recording it with David Bendeth (while in quarantine!) was an incredible experience, and he really worked with us to bring the song to life.” The music video was directed by Gabo Ramos, and the concept was worked on in tándem meticulously with Dany, Pau, Ale, The Warning team, along with the director. Surrounded by experts in every field from wardrobe, hair, makeup, art design, lighting design, and underwater crew, the video was shot in one day. “Choke” begins with the intimate sounds of Dany’s full vocals accompanied only by her guitar. A crunchy guitar sequence signals the band’s entrance, and the hard rock sound of the trio is heard in all its fury. The song builds with Ale’s driving bass and Pau’s aggressive drums until the chorus explodes with Dany delivering a powerful rising melody. The power and chemistry of The Warning are undeniable. The bridge offers a new feel and sibling vocal harmonies before the break-down and the powerful cadential choruses. Overall, The Warning has magical chemistry, impressive proficiency, and a sound that is totally theirs. That’s the short of it!